Wednesday, 25 July 2012

1930's - Enjoying a Swim: Sepia Saturday

My ancestors were not a particular sporty lot as far as I far as I am aware, and these are the nearest images in my collection to reflect this week's summer sports theme.

Here my mother Kathleen Danson, her youngest sister Peggy and her great friend that I knew as Auntie Phyllis were enjoying the outdoor South Shore Swimming Pool at Blackpool in the 1930's.

Two decades later in the 1950's, I remember Mum taking my brother and I there for a swim. In that era it was also a popular venue for beauty contests It was later demolished and I think the site is now a car park - a sad end to an iconic 1930's playground.

I was never keen on swimming but have vivid memories of the outdoor swimming pool in the nearest town. Otherwise it was a case of using the two nearby rivers back in the 1950s.Somehow the indoor pools now with their artificial waves are not the same as the sea.Great photo memories.

We got our first swimming pool in my town in 1951. We lived next door and I took swimming lessons and became a lifeguard at the pool. Spent the entire day there several years and now I have the skin problems to prove it. Great post.QMM

Wonderful photos Sue. It's sushc a shame that the otdoor swimming pools and 'Lidos' have now nearly all gone. If you didn't hear BBC Radio 4's 'Excess Baggage' programme in January, here's a quick link:

About Me

I have been interested in family history for years. It all began when I was allowed as a child to look through the old family photographs and memorabilia kept in a shoebox in the cupboard at my grandfather's house. That treat started me on a fascinating ancestral trail.